November 10, 2014

DD #98 - A Lesson Learned

I have always loved history, so I was excited to learn and teach about Wisconsin's history in our Social Studies curriculum of 4th grade. As I begun my teaching, I realized how little I even knew about crucial times in my home state's history. For example, my first year, I condensed the Fur Trade Era into a one half hour lesson based on a one-page article that generalized the whole era and had no specifics about Wisconsin. Six years later, not only was I proud of my six-week unit, I was holding a rendezvous, conducting river races, and dressing up as a voyageur at our field trip to the Buckskinner's encampment. This one day lesson turned into arguably my most favorite and most thorough unit. My love for my state grew as I learned more about it. I can only hope my excitement inspired my students to learn more. I am so excited to share my knowledge and experiences with my children. More importantly, I can't wait to experience the great things this state has to offer with them. I wasn't expecting that one, boring lesson would transform the way I learned, the way I taught, and the way I lived.

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